


The Red To My Grey

by marvelliz



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I mean there's a big possibility the reader is gonna find out who spiderman is, I'm Sorry, Identity Reveal, Maybe some angst, Soulmate AU, also I don't know what to tag, colour, kinda a soulmate au where people only see color upon seeing their soulmate for the first time, now on hiatus, some misunderstandings, that lead to more misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-07-25 18:18:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16202999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelliz/pseuds/marvelliz
Summary: In a world where people only start seeing colours upon first seeing their soulmate, finding them shouldn’t be that difficult. But the universe has some strange ways of messing with you. Could it be you found your soulmate, but he didn’t find you? And what if you don’t even know who he really is under that mask?On hiatus





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Lovelies, I’m back! This is my entry for @candycornparker and @spideypeach‘s writing challenge on Tumblr! I’m doing the soulmate AU, because I’ve always wanted to write one and now this is my chance! Yayy! It’s gonna be a series, I don’t know how long it will be yet, but we’ll see:) I hope you like it, because I for one am very excited to write this! ~Liz

Soulmates were a tricky thing.  
Parents told their children about it as bedtime stories, stories about how they first met their significant other and immediately knew. Now, in a world where people only started to see colours upon seeing their soulmate for the first time, it was kinda obvious.  
You had vivid memories of lying in your bed, being gently tucked in by your father and listening to him. Sometimes he told you how he first met your mom, and how the world quite literally looked brighter. But that wasn’t what you were most interested in. You wanted to know what red was, or how the sky looked when it was not grey. Was it just as beautiful as people said? You wanted – no, you needed to know.  
You used to talk about it with your friends, and then you discussed what you thought colours looked like. “My mommy says green is the colour of the grass, and that it looks really fresh and that trees have the same colour!”  
“My daddy says yellow is the most beautiful colour, because the sun is yellow and bananas are yellow and I like bananas.”  
“What colour do you think my jacket is? My mommy says it’s red, but I think it looks more like blue.”  
“Oh, can you see colours already?”  
“No, but I think it’s blue. Blue is gonna be my favourite colour!”  
Even when you were little, you could talk about colours for hours. Your friends, however, could get annoyed pretty fast by your rambling, because to most of them the colours where only a nice bonus. Meeting your soulmate was the real thing.  
It wasn’t that you were indifferent to the whole soulmate story, the colours were just more important to you. No, you secretly loved the idea of soulmates, the idea that there was somebody out there who was perfect for you in every way and who you could share the rest of your life with. You wouldn’t have to feel alone anymore once you met them.  
And as everyone grew older, and many of your classmates started to date – because suddenly they were repulsed by the idea of having the universe decide for them -, you still held on to that thread that would lead you to that perfect person. Because even though you understood their doubts about the whole soulmate idea, you trusted the universe in that decision.  
It wouldn’t fail you, would it?

You remembered the day you finally saw colours for the first time, as if the exact moment was etched in your memory. It probably was.  
It wasn’t the first time you’d been staring at the sky and imagining what it’d be like to see the different shades of what your parents called blue. You were waiting for something, maybe the bus, when suddenly everyone around you started buzzing more than usual. Something had happened, and a little further a crowd was gathering. It took you a moment before you noticed what the problem was exactly.  
A scaffolding had collapsed, and two construction workers were dangling from the edge of the building, both about to fall to their death. You were almost shocked to see that, except for one mother and a college student, no one really tried to help them. Of course you knew why - this was New York, so there would probably be a superhero somewhere in the neighbourhood who would save them.  
Still, you couldn’t just wait and stare. That wasn’t in your nature. But before you could do something, an excited scream erupted from the crowd. People looked up to the sky as one, and you instinctively followed their gazes to see what had caused that reaction.  
Next thing you knew, you could see it. Colours.  
The first you saw was red, you would learn to know later. It was a flash of red that drew a line in the air, but it wasn’t the thing that caught your attention the most.  
No, it was the sky. Because now you could finally see the heavenly blue you had dreamed of all your life, and it was so much more beautiful than you’d imagined.  
Your eyes were wide as you stared in shock at the sky, so surprised that you only later realized how weird that must’ve looked for other pedestrians – but this was New York, no one probably even cared. And most of them were more focused on the collapsed building anyway.  
It took a few seconds for the truth to settle in. You could see colours, so that meant … Realization hit you. You turned so abruptly you almost fell, but … You saw him. The guy in a blue and red suit. He’d managed to grab one of the workmen and bring him to safety, no idea how he’d done it. But then the other one’s hand slipped … and the masked superhero caught him mid-air, somehow swinging from a thin thread in his one hand, while his other held tight onto the surprised, but relieved construction worker.  
When he’d brought the man safely to the ground, an applause rose from the crowds. But instead of welcoming the attention, like you knew Iron Man would most likely do, the guy seemed almost … perplexed by the positive reaction. First he stumbled backwards, but once he noticed that the people weren’t playing a stupid joke on him, he simply saluted a little awkwardly and exited the scene - swinging from building to building.  
You were perplexed. Of course that had to happen to you, a soulmate with a red-blue onesie and weird superpowers.  
At first you didn’t tell your parents about it. Well, you told them you’d seen your soulmate, that you could see colours now – they were almost more excited than you were, if that was even possible -, but you didn’t tell them who it was. You told them you wanted it to stay your secret for a while, until you eased into it a little, and with your parents being amazing and supportive, they understood.  
They didn’t have to know that you were not even sure who your soulmate was.  
You quickly found out, though, because the next day Spiderman was the hot topic of your school. There was a new superhero in town!  
Some of your classmates thought he had really cool powers – he was not a Thor or a Hulk, but still. Others were more interested in what he would look like under the mask – was he young? Old? Maybe he was really handsome!  
And then your best friend asked what your opinion was on this new Spiderdude, and you made the mistake of telling the truth.  
“I think he’s my soulmate.”  
You’d never really been popular, but not a complete loser either. But those words were a terrible mistake, because somehow, nobody wanted to believe you. You understood their caution, but still. It wasn’t long before you were looked at differently, and everyone started making vicious comments on everything you did. Because if he really was your soulmate, why didn’t he know that as well?  
And to be honest, you wanted to know the answer to that last one more than anyone. There was an obvious explanation actually, because that you saw him didn’t mean he had seen you too. But it was common knowledge that it almost never happened that only one half of a soulmate duo started to see colours. So why would you be that exception?  
When you came home from school a few days later, you told your parents the truth, and how nobody believed you. Your parents comforted you as well as they could, but you knew, you felt that they didn’t believe you either.  
All those vile comments you received from classmates were eventually the reason you changed from school.  
That’s why, when you were standing in front of your new school - Midtown High School -, you decided that no one must know who your soulmate was. And if that meant keeping your ability to see colours a secret, so be it.


	2. Part one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting your soulmate should be a magical experience, something like in a movie. Peter doesn’t expect his soulmate to walk through the door on a typical Monday. He also doesn’t expect it when you don’t share that magical moment with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to disappoint you guys, this part is not so good, but ... Yeah no, I don't even have any excuses. Happy reading! ~Liz

Peter Parker didn’t expect much to happen that day.  
Some boring classes, Flash being a dick, Ned fanboying about his last night activities as Spiderman … He was tired anyway, so maybe he hoped that nothing much would happen.  
Everything went all right – as all right as high school could be, that was -, but then it was lunch break, and his spidey senses were tingling. He probably should’ve paid more attention to it, but this was high school, which meant that danger was around every corner. It probably was just Flash about to call him ‘Penis Parker’ again.  
Ned was rambling about the Star Wars movie he’d seen last night, when MJ appeared. Peter didn’t really know how it had happened, but Michele had become one of his best friends in a short time, even though it seemed like she could say nothing but sarcastic remarks. He liked that about her, though, she wasn’t afraid to say what she thought. She was the complete opposite of Ned, because she kept him with his feet on the ground. And he maybe needed that sometimes.  
“So, guys, there’s a new girl at school and I’ve said she could sit with us.” Michele said it as if it was the most normal thing in the world, but both Peter and Ned knew better. It wasn’t like her to casually invite new people over.   
She just took a bite from her sandwich when she noticed the boys staring at her. “What? She seems cool.”  
A big smile appeared on Ned’s face. “I trust your judgement, MJ.” The girl threw him a weird look, to which Ned answered with an only bigger smile. Peter hadn’t known it was even possible.   
His spidey senses started tingling right when Michele looked up. “Oh, there she is!” A genuine smile appeared on her lips, something both boys weren’t used to see on their friend. About just as much as seeing MJ waving to the person behind them.  
When Peter turned around, the first thing he noticed were your eyes, that were anxiously looking around. The second thing was how your mouth curved into a small smile when you saw Michele, and how you trembled a little, nervous to be in this totally new environment.  
It was only when he looked into your eyes again, that he noted something new. Your eyes didn’t look grey, like Ned’s or MJ’s, but he saw a twinkle and … a colour, only he didn’t know which colour he was looking at yet. But he didn’t mind, because it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life. His eyes grew wide with understanding once he noticed that not only you, but everything else was suddenly so much brighter than it was before.   
“Dude! Stop staring!” Ned poked him with his elbow, his excitement making the nudge a little too hard. But Peter didn’t care, because he didn’t feel like he could focus on anything other than the girl in front of him. You were the most beautiful person he’d ever seen, and maybe that was just because you were the first person he’d seen in colour. Or maybe he was a little biased because you were his soulmate …  
His soulmate. You were his soulmate.  
“Ned.” Peter tried to tap his friend on the shoulder, but it was as if he couldn’t get his eyes of you, so he ended up patting him on the head instead. He didn’t care. “It’s her, Ned. It’s her!”  
“What?”  
“Boys.” MJ interrupted Ned, who Peter was sure was looking at him with confusion written over his face. Peter didn’t look, though, because his eyes were trained on the girl who was now standing in front of them, shy smile plastered on her pretty face.   
“This is Y/N Y/L/N, she’s with me in English Literature.” 

You felt your cheeks grew red at MJ’s introduction, even though there was literally nothing to be ashamed over. Both boys in front of you seemed sweet enough, although the one on the right was staring quite a bit at you. You dismissed it with a shake of your head and gave them a little wave. “Hi, I’m Y/N.”   
You could mentally slap yourself. That was literally the first thing your new friend had said about you. “But of course you know that already, since Michele just told you.”  
Way to go, Y/N. Way to make new friends!  
But they didn’t seem to notice how awkward you felt. No, the boy on the left had the biggest smile on his face and waved cheerful before extending a hand to you. “Hi, I’m Ned!” He told you as you took his hand. If he shook your hand only a bit harder, you were sure it would fall right off.  
The other boy didn’t react, he kept staring at you. It was starting to get a little uneasy, but then MJ slapped his arm and the boy shook up. With wide eyes, he looked around. “Wha-“ From the corner of your eyes, you saw Michele roll her eyes and give him a hand sign in your direction. The boy quickly extended his hand towards you. “I’m – I’m Peter. Sorry, I was …“ He narrowed his eyes as he studied your face, searching for something. “- a little … distracted.”   
“Hi.” You answered him with a small smile and went to sit down next to Michele. How could you blame the boy – Peter – for not being completely here with his thoughts? That was something you easily did all the time.  
And these people seemed nice. Maybe your time on this school would be better than on your last one.  
Hopefully.

How could it be that he saw colours, but you didn’t?   
Peter had studied your face for minutes now, and you showed no sign that you’d just met your soulmate. No indication of seeing colour – none.   
How?  
“So, why did you change schools, Y/N?” It was MJ who’d asked the question, and Peter honestly couldn’t remember when was the last time she’d been this interested in someone. Although he must admit that he was pretty interested himself. Even if you weren’t his soulmate and him seeing colours was just an accident or a fault from the universe, you still seemed like an amazing person. He wanted to know more about you.  
“Euhm –“ You were hesitant to answer the question, that much was obvious. But that didn’t take long. “My parents thought it’d be better to change schools, they think I’d be better prepared for university here.”   
The words came out smoothly. As if you’d been prepared for that question, and had repeated the answer way too much in your head.  
Peter himself hadn’t said much yet to contribute to this conversation, but the mystery that surrounded you intrigued him. Maybe he could get more answers by just asking, instead of searching for them in your gorgeous eyes.  
“So, Y/N.” He cleared his throat, to ask her why – why she didn’t seem astonished upon seeing him. Because she should’ve been, right? Seeing colours was not an everyday thing, it was special. Right?  
You were looking at him with expectant eyes, he noticed then. And immediately decided he couldn’t ask what he wanted to know so badly. Because maybe you just didn’t want him to be your soulmate.  
“So are you thinking about joining the decathlon team?”

“Hey bro, what’d you think about that new girl?” Ned had been excited all day, and Peter suspected it was because he loved meeting new people. Somehow, where Peter was anxious, Ned was physically incapable of having any negative feelings.   
School had just ended and Ned had decided to come home with him, y’know, for some ‘guy in the chair’-business. Since aunt May had found out about his Spiderman-secret, she was so much more protective than she’d ever been before. But somehow she trusted him more when Ned was there to help him, because if Ned wanted to be the enthusiastic one, then Peter had to be the responsible one. Which made him hopefully much more careful. Her words.  
And of course Mr. Stark was there to help him, too. Ned had now access to his personal number too if he ever needed it, because apparently even Mr. Stark trusted him more when Ned was by his side.   
Which he was not sure was a compliment, or if he should feel a little offended by.  
“Hey, man, what’s wrong?” Ned poked him, but real worry overtook his features. “You’ve been absent all day!”  
Peter shook his head lightly. “It’s nothing, Y/N just confuses me a little.” It was not only that, he’d been completely distracted in every single class for the fact that he could see colours now. He didn’t know if was really a fault of the system, but for as long as he could see this new world, he wanted to take it in as much as he could. Although he had to admit it was also very much overwhelming.  
“Yeah, that was really obvious.” Ned’s voice made Peter jump out of his daydreams – he had those a lot today – and look at his friend in bewilderment. Ned went on, he probably hadn’t even noticed that Peter’s thoughts had been wandering again. “Bro, you’re so smitten by her, it’s almost embarrassing. You’ve been staring at her the whole day!”  
“No! No, I haven’t!” He was quick to defend himself, but he realised that he really had been staring at you a lot.   
“Yeah, you have!” A smug look adorned his friend’s face, like always when he was certain he figured something out. “What, is she your soulmate or something?”   
He had said it jokingly, but Peter only looked at him with determined eyes, a look that could not be misunderstood, not even by Ned. And yeah, Ned’s eyes widened almost immediately in understanding.  
“She is?!”  
“I don’t know, Ned!” Frustration coated Peter’s voice. “I started seeing colours when I saw her, but she doesn’t show any sign of seeing colours too! It’s confusing!”  
“You can see colours.” It was as if Ned hadn’t understood a thing of what he just said, because he was staring at him in something that was almost close to awe. He had that same face when he’d found out about Spiderman. “You can see colours!”  
Peter chuckled. Even if nothing seemed to go the way it had to, Ned’s excitement always managed to cheer him up, even just a little bit. “Yeah bro, that’s what I’m telling you.”  
A big smile accompanied the enthusiastic look in his dark brown eyes. “Then am I really wearing red? Or is it not red? What does red look like? Did you hear music when you saw her, like in movies? Cause that would be so cool!”  
“I don’t know!” Again, he chuckled, then tried to answer his best friend’s question as well as he could. Describing colours actually helped him not to think about Y/N for a while.   
Maybe that had been Ned’s intention all along.  
As if he sensed it, Ned looked up at Peter and threw him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, bro, I’m gonna find out for you tomorrow.”


	3. Part two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned tries his best to find out if you can see colours or not, but it doesn’t work out the way he hoped to. Meanwhile you get to know Peter a little better, and MJ is still her mysterious and very observant self.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I’m back!! So so sorry this chapter took so long, I just had a little bit of a writer’s block (yeah I know, after only two parts? smh;) But yeah, it’s finally here! It’s not that good though, nothing much happens tbh, and it’s more a filler chapter but it’s kinda necessary for the next parts! I just hope you’re not bored as hell while reading this:)) Also, I have really no idea how American schools work, so chances are this isn’t completely truthful. ~Liz

“You’re a mysterious one, you know that?”   
You looked at MJ, who was leading you through the hallways of your new school. It was only your second day, so you knew you were lucky you’d already found somebody nice to help you around. And Michelle – no, she’d said you could call her MJ – was really your type of person. She didn’t seem to care what other people thought about her, something you tried to be too, but your previous school had left quite an impression. You didn’t know MJ that well yet, but you already felt that she wouldn’t judge you as your previous classmates had.   
Plus, she had really nice friends. You’d only met Ned and Peter once, but somehow you already felt included in their little group. Sure, they were both a little awkward, but how could you judge when you were probably even more so?   
A light chuckle escaped your mouth as you looked up at your new friend. “And you aren’t?” It was true, MJ was probably the most mysterious person you’ve ever met. But something about that made you want to become her friend even more.  
She took your arm as to not lose you in the busy hallways, pushing your way through the crowds of students that were packed before their lockers. As soon as you passed them, she let go of you. There wasn’t much you knew about her, but you did know she wasn’t a touchy-feely person. More of the opposite actually, which made a warmth spread in your chest – because that meant she was looking out for you.   
There was a twinkle in her eyes when she looked at you, as if she was on the edge of discovering something. “No, I mean there’s something about you that you want to keep a secret. I just wonder what it is.”  
Her smile told you that she already had a few ideas, and your cheeks grew bright red under her investigative gaze. How did she -?  
“We’re here.” She interrupted your thoughts by leading you in a room you hadn’t been before. “Welcome to the Academic Decathlon Team.”  
Hesitating, you looked around the room. There wasn’t a team like this in your old school, probably because no one wanted to enter it. Something about it not being cool enough. But you were pleasantly surprised to see that here it was an honour to represent your school.  
There were not many people in the classroom yet, only a boy and a girl that were sitting at a table and laughing at something on the boy’s phone. You looked at MJ. “Shouldn’t the teacher be here already?”  
“He’s late, as always.” A loud voice behind you exclaimed. You couldn’t even turn before you felt a hand on your back and you felt a presence behind you, looking over your shoulder. “That’s why we always come here fifteen minutes later too.”  
The boy looked at you a little too close with his dark eyes, a strand of his equally black hair hanging over his forehead. Behind him Michelle rolled her eyes excessive, and you couldn’t blame her in the slightest. The guy had an aura around him that you couldn’t quite place, but you didn’t like it.  
He gave you a once-over and extended his hand with a smirk. “You must be new here. I’m Flash, I’m basically the teamleader. Nice to meet you.”  
You politely took his hand, but raised your eyebrows to MJ - who rolled her eyes again and shook her head to you. “He’s not. I am.”  
Flash only shrugged at her words. “I should be.”  
Realizing you were blocking the doorway for other students that wanted to pass, you moved away – well, actually more because Flash was getting in your personal space and you didn’t know what to think of him. MJ certainly didn’t seem to consider him her best friend.   
Footsteps came from the hallway and both Flash and Michelle looked over their shoulder. Another smirk appeared on the boy’s lips, but this time it was a more taunting one, not the flirty one he had given you only a few moments before. “Look who it is! Penis Parker decided to show up today!”  
“Just shut up already, Flash.” Peter Parker, the guy you’d met the other day, entered the classroom with a rather irritated expression on his face. You didn’t blame him, ‘cause really? Penis Parker? You had had enough to do with bullies already, and you didn’t like it when other people suffered the same experiences you had to go through on your previous school. Although Peter seemed more frustrated by Flash’s almost childish behaviour than he seemed intimidated by it.  
“Ah, Penis Parker here has some comebacks on his sleeves.” This time Flash looked to you, throwing you a wink. Somewhere in the back of your brain you realised he tried to impress you by getting other people down, but that just made your distaste for him grow even more.  
You threw him a glare, hoping to shut him up now once and for all. “You heard him, just be quiet.”  
At the sound of your voice, Peter abruptly whipped his head around. He probably had already forgotten you would come today, as he was staring at you with wide eyes. A small smile formed on your lips, hoping to let him loosen up around you a little. “Hey, Peter.”  
“Y/N.” He whispered your name, and somehow it felt really intimate coming from his lips that way. Which was super weird, because you’d only met the guy the day before.   
Peter quickly shook his head, then a smile matching to yours appeared on his face, although a little more shy. “Y/N, hey!”  
“Hey, Y/N!”  
You hadn’t seen Ned until he suddenly stood behind Peter, immediately catching your attention. He smile widely at you as if you just had made his day a whole lot brighter, but how contagious his laugh was though, it wasn’t what drew your attention.   
No, his clothes did. Or rather, their colour. Everything he was wearing was a bright, outstanding orange, from his shoes to the hat he was wearing. And since most people in the room were wearing more safe colours, like black, white and grey – since it was rather difficult choosing clothes when you couldn’t see their colour, and you could never do wrong with those – his remarkable choice of clothes was even more obvious.   
Honestly, the person who invented that shade should go to jail for a crime against humanity.   
You quickly realised that no one seemed to notice anything outstanding, because not many people your age had already seen their soulmate. That’s why no one turned their head when Ned walked in in those horrible colours.   
Just kidding, it wasn’t that bad. It was … flashy.  
“Hey Ned.” MJ greeted him back, bringing you back to the world of the living. “You seem happy.”  
Ned was beaming with the attention he suddenly got from MJ. “I am! I saw –“  
“That wasn’t an invitation to talk, weirdo.” Flash interrupted him cheekily.  
MJ threw him a murderous glare, reminding you immediately why you wanted her as a friend – and not as an enemy. “Shut up.”  
Even the always chill Flash seemed to be at least a little bit afraid of her.  
“Alright kids, let’s begin!” A tall man stood in the doorway, instantly drawing all the attention to him. Then he squinted at Ned. “Wow! What are you wearing?”  
He shook his head instead of waiting for an answer and walked right to the table where more students were already waiting. You knew that face, it was that face that said ‘never mind, not my problem, don’t get involved’. An expression you were quite familiar with, for the simple reason you had had to do with teachers all your life and they all could get evenly frustrated and uninterested when it came to their students. Just another day in high school, apparently.  
“What? Don’t you guys like my clothes?” Ned didn’t seem disrupted at all by his teacher’s words, his usual wide smile still plastered on his face. “Y/N?”  
“What?” Why did he address you? Did he know something? You couldn’t say anything about the colour, because everyone here thought you hadn’t met your soulmate yet. Which was technically the truth, since you’d only seen him from a distance, swinging in the air like it was just another boring day in Queens. “I think they’re … nice.”  
“What do you think about the colour?”  
MJ interrupted him, but gave you weary look at the same time. “Why do you think she can see colours yet, Ned?”  
He shrugged casually, as if it was the most logical answer ever. “Well, since Peter can see colours …”  
“You can see colours?”   
Michelle didn’t often look this astonished, and even you knew that while being here for this short period of time. Flash apparently didn’t know it either, because he looked just as stunned.  
Your interest was immediately awoken.  
Peter looked flustered, so nothing different from how you have seen him that one time before. “I – Not so long! Only a –“ You noticed how he quickly looked your way while he tried to explain. “Only a couple of days?”  
Flash scoffed, obviously not believing him. “And who’s the lucky person? Or unlucky, if they have to be tied to you for their whole life!”   
He looked Peter challenging in the eyes, and this time Peter was not so quick on comebacks. No, Peter seemed to have a hard time with words for the moment.  
“Uhm … It’s – complicated?” Again, he looked at you from the corners of his eyes.   
Flash huffed demeaningly. “Sure it is. Which colour is Ned’s hat?”  
“Orange.”  
Ned smiled broadly, and you were almost worried that he was gonna break his face if he kept laughing like that. “He’s right, my mum said so too! Is it a cool orange?”  
Peter chuckled at his friend, truly amused by his excitement. “It’s the ugliest colour I’ve ever seen, I’m sorry man.”   
At least that’s something you and Peter had in common.

The moment every student was seated at the large round table in the middle of the room, the teacher cleared his throat. “Yes, well, for everyone who’s new here, my name is – and I think it’s only you who is new here, what’s your name?”  
You felt your cheeks redden at the ten pairs of eyes that suddenly looked your way, some of them more curious than others. “I’m – uhm, Y/N Y/L/N, sir.”  
“Miss Y/L/N, right. So, welcome in the Academic Decathlon Team, I’m sure you will like it here. I’m Mr. Harrington, the head of the team.” He was fumbling a bit with the papers that were laying in front of him and pushed his glasses higher on his nose with one finger. He seemed to be a nice teacher, though he was a little clumsy.   
“Uh- Where did I leave those papers? I had them right – ah, here!” Mr. Harrington mumbled under his breath, then his focus shifted and he looked at MJ. “Maybe you could start with practicing some questions?”  
MJ shrugged indifferently, but her eyes shone as if this was really important to her. “Sure. Who begins?”  
She looked at you before she even finished her question, just like most other students, you realised. Mr. Harrington coughed. “Yes, Y/N. We need to see what you can do.”  
For the second time that day you felt your face flush. Michelle just nodded seriously. “We’ll do in teams. Abe and Jason against Y/N and …”  
“Peter will do it!” Ned was quick to intervene, maybe too quick. You didn’t notice though, as you send Peter a genuine smile.   
Peter blushed heavily at Ned’s not so subtle words, and even more when you smiled so sweetly at him. “Yeah, I’d like too!” He returned your smile.

“What is the modern name of the element Sb, which stands for Stibnum or –“  
You didn’t need to hear the end of the question to know the answer, but one of the boys on the other team was faster than you to push the button. You didn’t remember which of them was Abe and who was Jason.  
“It’s Stibnite.”  
Whatever his name was, he was right. But Michelle just shook her head. “It is, but that was the last word of the question. Which you would’ve known if you had listened ‘till the end.”  
At those words you immediately pressed the button. You had something to prove.  
“Yes, Y/N?”  
“Is it Antimony?” Though you were certain of your answer before, now you doubted it again. Like always.  
But MJ nodded lightly, and you could swear she had a small smile on her face. “Yes, great job. I think that makes 7-3 for Peter and Y/N, which makes it ten questions. Let’s switch groups.” Next to you Peter started to get up, but MJ wasn’t finished yet. Now her smile was more obvious as her eyes locked with yours. “And I think I speak for all of us when I say that Y/N is an amazing addition to our team.”  
You bowed your head so to hide your flushed cheeks at her words, and followed your partner to the tables in the back of the room. You looked up again when you felt a kind nudge against your arm.  
“You’re amazing, Y/N.” Peter looked at you admiringly as he walked next to you, and you almost beamed under his gaze. “I don’t think you even need me as your partner.”  
It was an obvious lie, of course, because you knew he could’ve easily been a lot faster than you in answering. At least, that’s what MJ had told you earlier, that Peter was effortlessly the smartest kid in school. His only problem that most of the times he just didn’t go to school.  
But you appreciated his gesture. You weren’t the most confident person, and as if he knew that, he tried to give you more trust in yourself in the only way he could right now. It was sweet.  
“Thanks, Peter, but I think you know I that I do need you.” You winked at him. It was so easily to get him flustered, and somehow you thought it was cute when he was this red because of something you’d said. “You’re a great partner, you know?”  
Ned held his hand up for you to give him a high five when you arrived at where he was waiting for you two. “That was so great! You really smashed them there!” Still as excited as ever.  
His flashy orange clothes were still horrible, but you kinda were used to them by now. Peter chuckled next to you. “They’re on our team, Ned. Be nice to them!”  
“No, he’s right.” You lightly poked Peter with your elbow as you looked at him with a glint of mischief in your eyes. “We really did smash them.”  
All three of you laughed loudly now, a little too hard that Mr. Harrington had to ask you to be quieter so the other students could exercise without being disturbed. Giggles still escaped your mouth after he’d warned you a second time, but you didn’t mind that much. It’d been a while since you really felt included in a group. And now, with Peter and Ned, and even MJ who threw you an irritated look but with a small smile on her lips as if she couldn’t wait to join you, you knew this year would be better than the last one. Not that it could be any worse, that is.  
You had new friends, and you couldn’t wait to get to know them better. No drama this year, and certainly not when it came to soulmates.

“So, who is it?” MJ asked you the moment you were alone again. Her expression was indifferent, but her eyes shone with curiosity.  
“Who’s what?”  
“Your soulmate.”  
Your mouth fell open at her words, but you immediately remembered that she was not supposed to know. “I don’t – what are you talking about?”  
She sighed. “Listen, you don’t have to tell me. I know you probably have your reasons to keep this a secret and I swear I won’t tell anyone.” She quickly looked you in the eyes, and that was enough for you to see she meant it. “I promise.”  
You realised you were gaping at her. And that it probably was pointless to deny at this point. “How did you know?”  
A small smile played on her lips.  
“I’m just very observant.”


End file.
